Can animal models really teach us anything about pneumonia? Pro

Abstract

Animal models can provide incredibly detailed data on pathogenesis and immunology of lung infections, and will be essential for the development of novel therapeutic/preventative strategies to reduce the morbidity and mortality caused by pneumonia http://bit.ly/2pdCzcH

A novel Streptococcus pneumoniae human challenge model demonstrates Treg lymphocyte recruitment to the infection site

“…However, the available methodologies for investigating host pathogen interactions have significant weaknesses. For example, the effects of anatomy, cell to cell interactions, and the large range of different structural and immune cells involved in bacterial infection cannot be accurately replicated using in vitro experiments with human cells, and data obtained from animal models may not reflect bacterial interactions with human cells 3 . Furthermore, animal models usually do not replicate the complex immune background found in humans, who may have adaptive immune responses to the pathogen under investigation due to previous exposure (often on multiple occasions), and in whom co-morbidities or the effects of age can substantially alter immune responses.…”